Wordless Wednesday: Moving Office

Review: Binaural Beats Meditation

Things are not going all too well these days, having issues with the house, a way too big workload on my desk every morning, and a building site manager at my back.  Stress usually translates into insomnia and restless sleep for me, like with many others out there.

My personal way to improving my sleep in order to not further add to the stress by lack of sleep is meditation and progressive muscle relaxation. Several weeks ago, I was approached by Mark from Ennora to review their Powerful Meditation Music.

When I first listened to the tunes, I was honestly not too impressed, since synthesizer music is usually not my cup of tea. But when I read more about the reason behind the music, I saw the tunes in a completely new light and was hooked. This special meditation program is helping you to achieve the aspired state, whether it is to prepare for a busy day or to calm yourself before bedtime, by Binaural Beats.

Binaural Beats were first discovered by the German physicist Heinrich Wilhelm Dove in 1839, who noticed that "slightly different frequencies played separately to each ear produced a perception of interference at the same rate as the difference between the two frequencies." (Ennora.com)

Over time, more research in brain function revealed that the brain could actually be trained to move into certain frequency waves; for example, tests have shown that with the help of binaural beats, low-frequency brain activity could be achieved, similar to the brain waves of Buddhist monks in deep meditation.

How do Binaural Beats work? When listening to the meditation music, you will have to wear stereo headphones. Each ear will receive a slightly different beat (e.g. 200 Hz for the left and 205 Hz for the right ear). In order to compensate, the brainwaves start to vibrate at the difference of the two beats you hear (e.g. 5 Hz). With this training, it is able to achieve every state in between deep relaxation as in the deep sleep phase (Delta state) to high mental alertness (Gamma state). Read more on the science behind Binaural Beats here.

On its website, Ennora offers a number of different single meditations and meditation packs, such as the Balance Pack or the Sleep Pack, my current favorite! All meditations are available as instate MP3 downloads or for streaming. For those of you who may not be sure if this is right for you, a 10-minute free sample is available here; furthermore, Ennora offers a 60-days money back satisfaction guarantee. 

So if you're interested for a completely new experience, whether you are practicing meditation regularly or you're new to the concept, there's nothing to lose! Visit Ennora.com for a complete overview of these amazing products!

The Best Medicine

We had an appointment at the building site today, figuring out how (and if) we'd get out water connected (seems to be not too much longer, keep your fingers crossed for us!!). I was not looking forward to this appointment. Actually, I was quite dreading it (yes, it has come down to that...), I'd rather have stayed at work without a break and with overtime. Thus was my mood when I got out and hubby picked me up. The girls were excited (which lifted the mood), Lily told me all about doing her duties hunting for electricity eaters (lamps that have been left on if no-one's in the room, appliances that are running for no reason, kindergarten is teaching her well!  ), and Violet complained about the usual kid at her class acting out (yes, yes, we all know Jacob!).

Hubby ended his report of the day so far mentioning that he had this one Weeble song stuck in his head:



Yes, I know, hubby sometimes listens to weird stuff, so I suggested that this was still better than having "Dancing Queen" stuck in your head!



He looked at me. "Thank YOU!!"  Oh my goodness did we laugh at the situation. It was absurd, not even really funny, but we both cracked up so badly over it. And the girls chimed in, not even sure why we laughed, but it HAD to be something funny, so just participate. It lifted my spirits beyond anything I can say. Laughing is indeed the best medicine ever. My day was saved, and hubby has "Dancing Queen" stuck in his head now. Mission accomplished  :-)

Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (37)

And just like that, half my weekend is over. I found a time machine called "sleep"!  I always thought the fatigue would be over after the first trimester (at least it used to be like that); right now I feel as if it's hitting in full force now. But at least I managed to be somewhat productive, preparing the house for a visit from the parents tomorrow. 

The ten things I'm incredible thankful for this week:

1. The birthday breakfast out I shared with hubby. We don't get too much couple-time any more these days, and once baby joins us, these moments will become even more scarce, so we enjoy them as they come.

2. Having a fairly easy time back at work. There are times after some time off when I spent days to work through my emails. This time, I managed to sorth through them within a few hours and could go right to my actual work.

3. The kind welcome my colleagues gave me on my first day back. They had decorated my desk for my birthday and besides two gorgeous orchids gave me a bunch of gift cards that will come in very handy once we move.

4. Me not being the only one who was absolutely annoyed by the host guy from the meeting on Wednesday. Obvioulsy, everyone was, and we had quite some conversations about that meeting later.

5. Watching Violet play with Lily's FurReal cat today. She was so adorable with it, and I really can't wait having real cats now  :-)

6. All the cuddles I shared with Lily the past couple of days. I promise, one night I will fall asleep in her bed and wake up the next morning  :-)

7. Seeing the first strawberries at the store. I didn't buy any because I know they only taste like water, but they smell yummie, and their color just makes me happy.

8. The crunchie cereal I used to get as a child. I found it at the store the other day, and it still tastes like it did when I was little. It has happened a lot that things I remember from my childhood are simply not the same any more now. But this cereal is still the same.

9. Hubby baking me apple pie for my birthday. He's the best!!

10. Expecting my parents for a late birthday lunch tomorrow. We're going to try a new restaurant, and hope it's going to be good  :-)


Have a great weekend, everyone, and thank you for hosting, Lizzi!!